SCUTTLEBUTT 2638 - Tuesday, July 15, 2008

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SAILOR'S WIDOW FILES SUIT AGAINST US SAILBOAT BUILDER
Linda Stone, widow of a Texas sailor who drowned last month after the keel
fell off his sailboat, filed a lawsuit last week against the boat's builder,
Cape Fear Yachts. Stone has also filed suit against a Galveston, Texas
boatyard that fixed the keel after it ran aground. Roger Stone died on June
6 after helping two students escape from the capsizing sailboat 10 hours
after the start of a race from Galveston, Texas to Veracruz, Mexico.

Linda Stone said that the main purpose of the lawsuit is to find out why the
keel failed and prevent it from happening again on other boats. "Accidents
happen, but this wasn't God doing it," Stone said at a news conference in
her lawyer's office. "It wasn't 'Roger's time'. Somebody fouled up. Keels
don't fall off boats. They should be built so they don't fall off. We don't
want anyone else to be hurt."

The lawsuit names Cape Fear Yacht Works, boat designer Bruce Marek and Payco
Marine, and Galveston Yacht Service. The last two clients performed repairs
on the boat after a hard grounding in 2007. The lawsuit alleges that the
design and manufacture of the boat were defective and the repairs done to
fix the leaking keel inadequate. -- by IBI Magazine, read on:
http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20080614151321ibinews.html

A CALL FOR HELP – THE FIGHT AGAINST LEUKEMIA
A member of Team Shosholoza’s 2007 America’s Cup campaign has launched an
epic “cycle for leukemia” to raise funds and awareness for a bone marrow
donor organization even though he is back in hospital fighting a desperate
battle against the disease. South African sailmaker Mike Coburn, 35, who was
proud to join Team Shosholoza in Valencia, Spain after recovering from a
bone marrow transplant himself, is planning to raise funds for the Anthony
Nolan Trust by cycling 1000 miles from one end of Britain to the other -
John O’Groats to Land’s End – in November this year.

“The Trust’s motto is ‘Taking back Lives from Leukemia’. They found my donor
and gave me a new lease on life so I want to give back to them, said Coburn.
“Our End - End Epic will be a tough ride but I think it will be one of the
most rewarding things I’ll ever do.” Coburn's world first came crashing down
in March 2004 - the same week that founding managing director Captain
Salvatore Sarno announced the launch of Team Shosholoza as South Africa’s
first ever America’s Cup challenger. Durban born Coburn had been working in
Australia and just moved to England when by chance he was diagnosed with
Chronic Myloid Leukaemia. If untreated he was given 3 to 6 months to live.
“Nothing on this planet prepares you for when a doctor is going to say to
you: ‘You’ve got cancer,’ said Cobern. “I was only 32 years old. Life as I
knew it ended in a split second. “ -- Additional information on Mike’s story
and how to help:
http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6064

ONE EXPENSIVE BELT BUCKLE
by Kimball Livingson, SAIL West
"It's about the people." You always hear that. Racing sailors feel a passion
for boats and the motion of boats and the beauties of the sea, but what
keeps them going is, "about the people." So it gave me a grin to hear
exactly the same from a man about to cross 2,120 miles of open ocean, solo,
in the Singlehanded Transpacific Race. Ken "The General" Roper went out the
Golden Gate on his 10th solo race to Hawaii on Saturday, and before the
start that's what came out of his mouth. "It's about the people."

How do you define community for somebody who has put more than 100,000
mostly-solo miles on a 31–foot boat? Roper says, "I keep up with a lot of
the people who have done this race, and out of 23 boats this year there must
be six or eight that I've raced with before." (The belt buckles awarded to
finishers define a pretty small club.) Roper: "It's one expensive belt
buckle." The 2008 race is his "last one." Again. -- Read on:
http://sailmagazine.blogspot.com/2008/07/one-expensive-belt-buckle.html

NEW ECO-FRIENDLY HULLKOTE HELPS YOU ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS
Rocinante takes overall honors in the Queen's Cup. Hardesty wins Etchells
Worlds. Quantum leads the TP 52 Circuit. PUMA trains for the VOR. Olympians
prepare for peak performance in China slime. Make life ashore as easy as
possible for you and your team while gaining every advantage on the water.
New Citrus-Based McLube Hullkote Speed Polish applies quickly and easily and
will keep your hull looking great and feeling fast. Hullkote completely
seals your hull surface to keep it fast and clean below the waterline and
provides a UV protective showroom quality shine above the waterline. Learn
more at: http://www.mclubemarine.com

SEAWEED, SAILING, AND FLYING CHOPPERS
by Stevie Morrison (GBR), Olympic 49er representative
Sailing here at the moment (in Qingdao) is like a scene from Pirates of the
Caribbean. It's unbelievably foggy and there's all these mad Chinese junks
silently appearing out of the mist as they fish for seaweed. You can't see
them until the last minute. It's very surreal. The fog is so bad you can't
get more than about 10 metres away from your support boat or else you'll
never find them or land again. It must be a claustrophobic's nightmare. It's
also hot and steamy – so humid that the mist feels like rain.

As for the seaweed, in terms of effort they're doing an unreal job of
clearing it up. We counted 165 fishing boats just on one of the race areas
recently. I reckon it's going to start appearing as the special in the local
restaurants soon. Also, there's a new craze in town. We've all bought remote
control helicopters for about 20 pounds ($40 US). You can’t walk around the
hotel these days without the threat of getting a chopper in your head.

Qingdao is a very westernised city, with lots of neon, and is absolutely
huge. There is an old fishing port somewhere but it's not all quaint
markets. In fact, it looks a bit like Gotham City out of Batman, with the
fog swirling around the buildings. One area you can detect the relatively
recent development is on the roads. They only introduced white lines about
five years ago. But the taxi drivers still act as if it's a blank canvas.
It's heart in the mouth stuff. It's a very different culture to ours and we
need passes to go anywhere. The police like to know where you are. They say
it's for our security, so we'll roll with that. -- Excerpts from BBC,
complete story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A38337078

OLYMPIC COUNTDOWN: 25 DAYS TO GO
* A special website for the US Olympic Team has been set-up where team
members will provide updates, and where friends and fans can post messages
to them: http://www.amazingawaits.org

* Qingdao, July 12 (Xinhua) -- A stronger sea barrier was installed on
Saturday off the coast here to keep algae out of the Olympic sailing venue,
and training of all 352 athletes from 36 countries resumed. The 22,000-meter
barrier can block algae at wind speeds up to 61 km per hour, local
authorities said. The first 20,000-meter barrier was completed on Friday,
100 m away from the second. More than 100 boats with 500 people worked on
the barriers. "The first barrier has been proved effective and the second
could end our worries about algae," said Zhao Han, head of the project and
deputy director of the Qingdao Maritime Safety Administration. Only
scattered bits of algae could still be found in cleared areas and they would
be fully cleared by July 15, Zhao said. The sailing event will take place
here from Aug. 8-23. -- Read on:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/12/content_8535755.htm

* China has ordered dog meat to be taken off the menu at its 112 official
Olympic restaurants in order to avoid offending foreign visitors. Restaurant
workers are advised to "patiently" suggest other options to diners who order
dog. Any restaurant found violating the ban would be black-listed, the
state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Dog - known as "fragrant meat" - is
eaten by some Chinese for purported medicinal properties. The ban, issued by
the Beijing Catering Trade Association, forbids all designated Olympic
restaurants from offering dog and urges other food outlets to remove the
meat from menus. The BBC's James Reynolds says the ban is one of several
steps taken by China to avoid foreign visitors being amused or offended by
local customs. -- BBC, full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7501768.stm

FORUM EVENT REPORTS
* The Soverel 33 Nationals were held last weekend at Lake Norman Yacht Club
near Charlotte, NC, with boats attending from Long Island, Connecticut,
Georgia, and North Carolina.

* One hundred and seventy-five sailors were at the Atlantic Coast
Championships for the Laser, Radial and 4.7, held July 12-13 at the Brant
Beach Yacht Club in Brant Beach, New Jersey.

* After recently learning that they will be competing in the 2008 Olympics,
Canadians Jen Provan, Martha Henderson and Katie Abbott headed over to
Denmark last week for the Yngling Open Worlds, finishing third in the
56-boat fleet.

* Sail Newport reports that 236 boats participated in this past weekend's
Coastal Living Newport Regatta. Seventeen classes of One-Designs were given
164 race starts by race committees on four circles of racing.

* Upcoming Events: The 2008 International 505 Class Yacht Racing
Associations North American Championships will be July 16-20 in Cascade
Locks, Oregon with the 40th Annual Mariner National Championship Gathering
July 18-20 in Surf City, New Jersey.

COVILLE CLOSING IN ON TRANSATLANTIC RECORD
(July 14, 2008 – 23:45 UT) Thomas Coville and his 105-foot maxi trimaran
Sodeb’O have only 124 nm to complete the North Atlantic crossing record,
with a 229 mile lead over the record set by Francis Joyon in 2005. However,
the weather situation is likely to make things very tense for the tired
skipper and his team of routers onshore, as the wind is forecasted to
lighten. Currently due West the wind is right on his tail and had already
forced Coville to gybe several times in the last day and a half, taking him
away from the direct course, but he has good pace now at 22.2 knots VMG.
Coville, who has only slept a few hours since last Wednesday, has been
careful to focus on getting the boat to make good headway for the past five
days, last night confided: “If you sleep a little you lose 3 or 4 knots of
speed. You don’t know in advance if you’ll regret those few miles you’ve
lost”. Sodeb’O was then making headway at full speed on flat seas
“everything aloft, full main, big gennaker and trinquette”. Coville began
his record attempt July 9th at 11:47 UT, and must round Lizard Point (SW tip
of England) before Tuesday 17:47 UT to beat the solo North Atlantic record
held by Joyon since 2005. -- Team website:
http://www.sodebo-voile.com/actu/news-eng.html

IMAGE GALLERY
* Photographer Amory Ross was onsite last weekend at the Coastal Living
Newport Regatta in Newport, RI, providing imagery from some of the seventeen
one design fleets in attendance. See photos and results:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/0714

* Held in Glücksburg, Germany, the Robbe & Berking 12 Metre World
Championship (Classic Vintage and Antique Division) competed last week,
wherein Patrizio Bertelli and the crew of his 12 metre Nyala won the 2008
Classic World Championship. Photos by Kai Greiser / sealens.com:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/0713

HALF TIME AT ISAF YOUTH WORLDS
Arhus, Denmark (July 14, 2008) - France moved to the top in the multihull
fleet whilst the other leaders remain unchanged as the Volvo Youth Sailing
ISAF World Championship hit the halfway stage. As of today all competitors
at the event have sailed at least six races allowing them to discard their
worst score to date. The discard and the shifty winds on the course meant
that some sailors shone whilst others fell and rose in the standings.

Three races in the 29er fleet saw the boy’s fleet get as tight as it can get
at the top with the British, American and Australian teams on equal points
with 27 points. American’s Judge Ryan and Hans Henken told of the difficult
conditions out on their race course. “We had a shaky start, but managed to
get it back together for the next two,” said Henken. “The water was flatter
today but the shifts were hard to predict. If you got them right you were
top ten but if you were wrong then you would be at the back in no time.”
Tuesday is a layday with racing resuming on Wednesday with two races for all
classes other than the 29er boys and girls fleets who have three races
scheduled. Racing ends on Friday. -- Daily report: http://xrl.us/kkwdn

TWENTY AND COUNTING
What do you get with attending thousands of regattas and having countless
supports boats on the water? Twenty years of commitment to the sport.
Providing the optimal platform for setting marks, coaching, or just watching
the races, RIBCRAFT is the official RIB of US SAILING and the US Sailing
Team. http://www.ribcraftusa.com

SAILING SHORTS
* The 60-foot multihull Earth Voyager set a record, finishing the Chrysler
Jeep Superstores Bayview Mackinac Race in roughly 14 hours, at 4:57 a.m on
Sunday. It's a record skipper Ray Howe of Rochester, N.Y., believes will
stand until a new generation of multihulls does the Port Huron to Mackinac
race. "We just rocketed that last 30 miles," Howe said. Fujimo/Windquest,
chartered by the Schostak family of Franklin, was second to the island,
finishing at 6:29 a.m., a monohull record. -- Detroit Free Press, read on:
http://xrl.us/kkwdp

* (July 14, 2008) The hunt for multimillionaire adventurer Steve Fossett,
who went missing in September 2007 after taking off by plane from a remote
Nevada ranch, resumes today as a team of elite athletes and expert
mountaineers starts hiking through rugged mountains on the California-Nevada
border where he may have crashed. The 10-member team is headed by Simon
Donato, 31, a Canadian geologist whose avocation is adventure racing through
wilderness areas around the world. Fossett's widow, Peggy, has issued a
statement saying she is not involved in the latest search activity and has
“no further plans for additional searching.” -- SD Union-Tribune, full
story: http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080714/news_1n14fosset.html

* Los Angeles, CA - American Zac Sunderland, who began his quest to be the
youngest sailor to attempt a solo global circumnavigation on June 14th with
his departure from Los Angeles, arrived in Honolulu on Friday, July 11th for
a planned stop to restock and address punch-list items. The 16 year-old from
Thousand Oaks, CA is sailing an Islander 36. -- http://www.zacsunderland.com

* The Green Dragon Team’s Volvo Open 70 completed its first offshore
passage, arriving into Cork in Ireland on Sunday (July 13, 2008). The boat,
which was commissioned and has undergone sea trials in Gosport, UK, sailed
with a full crew for the 450 mile trip to Ireland. Joining skipper Ian
Walker onboard were two new additions to the Green Dragon Team;
internationally renowned yachtsmen Neal McDonald (GBR) and Anthony
Merrington (AUS) have joined the existing 10 strong sailing team. -- Full
report: http://xrl.us/kkwdr

* CORRECTION: The lead story in Issue 2638 from the Boston Globe concerning
Tim Wadlow had a major mistake where it referred to Tim sailing with Pete
Spaulding for the 2008 Olympics. Tim and Pete sailed together at the 2004
Games, but Tim has teamed up with Chris Rast for this quad.

LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON
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* From Adam Turinas: In moment of madness, we are thinking about taking the
plunge and buying a boat. Nothing too fancy. Something, small, old but
seaworthy that we can take out when we want to but not feel guilty if she
sits on the mooring for weeks on end. I would love any tips you have. I have
scoured the web for checklists and found some useful ones but I am looking
for voices of experience. Your best tips and your horror stories? Actually
the more horror stories the better. In fact screw the tips, what's the worst
experience you have had buying a boat? What should I avoid at all costs?
Thanks in advance for your help, as your site always drives a lot of
traffic. Comments can be added here: http://xrl.us/kkwdv

* From Olof Holt: The Swedish Square Meter Rule celebrates 100 years in
2008. Dissatisfaction with the then new International R Meter Rule demanded
a new measurement rule that would produce boats that could be sailed by
families as well as offer good and fun racing. It covers nine classes, 15,
22, 30, 40, 55, 75, 95, 120 and 150 sqm (1 sqm = aprox. 11 sqft). The fleet
is also called Swedish Skerry Cruisers or Square Skerry Yachts. Recently a
number of the largest cruisers assembled for an Anniversary race on the
Baltic Sea. The RC boat was Götheborg, a recently built, 135 feet replica of
the Swedish East Indiaman that sank in the inlet of the Gothenburg harbor in
September, 1745, just short of completing her return from China. Great
photos at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/0714

CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION
Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work
with excellence.